Most Media Centers have student computers. Mine has 32 of them, and therefore it is
quite frequently closed for standardized testing purposes. The FAIR test (Florida Assessment in
Reading), shuts me down three times a year, for a week at a time. I don’t even want to talk about the FCAT test
now that it’s computer-based as well.
And there are more tests than these!
So, in retaliation, I’ve set-up a “Mobile Library.” I acquired a shelving unit on wheels in a
transfer from another middle school, and since our circulation program is
web-based, all I need for that is an internet connection.
Thus, on Friday, September 20th, I filled the cart’s
shelves with a selection of books, hooked up my laptop, keypad, and scanner,
and took an Ethernet cord just in case I needed to hard wire it. I pushed it all down to a small, unused,
teacher’s lounge next to the student cafeteria (with the help of one of my
loyal student volunteers), and set up the whole thing. I added some book displays, a plastic
container which I taped a “Book Return” sign to, a due date sign, and some
stacks of bookmarks for the students.
During all three lunches (grades 6, 7, 8), I offered the
three main functions of the library to all 565 students in the school: checkout, return, renewal. I had over 100 students take advantage of at
least one of these functions, sometimes all three. Here are some photos of the set-up. I really wished I could have gotten photos of
the kids as they utilized the Mobile Library, but I was so busy running the show,
I never had time to stop.
I received many compliments from colleagues, students, and even a parent who had stopped by on PTSA business. However, the greatest reward for all the work a mobile library takes, is getting books into the hands of students.
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| The Mobile Library |
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